Despite Alfonso's orders, Cesare did not immediately let go of Araidne's wrist. Alfonso, nevertheless, was so embarrassed or excited. and walked up to Cesare's nose and spoke in a calm voice without raising his voice at all.
"I guess you didn't hear me. Let go of her hand, Count de Como."
Alfonso, four years younger than Cesare, was still a clear-eyed boy. The fluff in his cheeks, his soft skin, and his youthful voice could not hide his age. However, the grace of his demeanor overshadowed his young age. Cesare was rather tall for his slim build, standing about 183 cm. However, Prince Alfonso, who was still in the middle of growing up and was half a span shorter than him, had straight shoulders and a solid build, so even when he stood next to Cesare, who was much bigger than himself, he was not pushed at all. In the confrontation, the Prince spoke once more mildly.
"And the Count seems to have forgotten to pay his respect to royalty."
There were words that could not be ignored. If an ordinary person fails to show respect to the royal family, they will be punished for contempt of the royal family. Cesare was not recognized by King Leo III. He was not officially a member of the royal family. Cesare gritted her teeth and while holding Ariadne's wrist, gave Alfonso a bow to royalty. Alfonso glanced at Ariadne's wrist held by Cesare, then looked straight at Cesare and spoke once more. The Prince's voice was very calm and steady like water droplets sliding on marble.
"Count de Como, don't say goodbye too soon. We are meeting for the first time today."
In the Etruscan Kingdom, when giving an official audience to the royal family, both men and women knelt on one knee on the floor and bowed their heads for the first time. If they met for the second time on the same day, or if they understood that the royal family was okay due to old age or mobility difficulties, or if they were in a very close relationship, a man bowed to the royal family and a woman bowed her knees while holding the hem of her dress could be replaced with Prince Alfonso pointed this out.
In most cases, Alfonso tended to shy away from greeting the royal family, but this time there was no overbearing. Cesare gnashed his teeth and let go of Ariadne's wrist. then took a step back and asked Alfonso to get him on one knew and bow deeply to greet him. Every movement was slow and full of resentment. Grinding his teeth so hard, his jaw muscles were swollen like they were about to explode. Ariadne thought that Cesare was so angry that she couldn't sleep tonight.
'The thing Cesare hates the most in the world is kneeling.'
And of all, Cesare's least favorite was kneeling at Alfonso, his half-brother. At one time, he even thought that about 30% of the reason why Cesare decided to usurp the throne was because, if he became a King, he would not have to kneel to anyone except the Emperor. Alfonso didn't even accept Cesare's greeting right away. He left Cesare kneeling on the floor and greeted Ariadne, who had been freed from Cesare and was touching her wrist.
"Good afternoon, Lady de Mare."
"Meet His Highness, Prince Alfonso, the little sun of the Kingdom."
Just as she was about to kneel down and say hello, Prince Alfonso held her arm and held her back.
"Lady de Mare, we already met this morning."
It was said that only Cesare was on his knees and Ariadne didn't have to. Ariadne struggled to hold back a small laugh. Fortunately, she succeeded in refraining from making any noise, and only Prince Alfonso saw the smiling face, while Cesare, who was lowering his head, did not hear anything. Prince Alfonso grinned and pulled Ariadne toward him.
"Lady de Mare, please come this way. The Marquis of Chibo and his wife are waiting for you."
Ariadne nodded and went behind Prince Alfonso's back. Cesare was still on his knees. Alfonso accepted Cesare's greeting as if he had forgotten, only after Ariadne moved away from Cesare to a safe distance.
"Ah, Count de Como. Nice to meet you. You can go now."
Ariadne stood behind Prince Alfonso and added a word to Cesare, whose face was bloodied with anger.
"Oh, by the way, you pay for the repair of the floor of the Marquis of Chibo!"
Cesare managed to restrain himself from almost kicking a stone even though he was in front of Prince Alfonso.
That little rattlesnake!
***
Ariadne and Alfonso chatted as they moved to the main building of the Marquis of Chibo.
"It is wonderful, Ariadne. Did you originally know that it was a forgery?"
She knew it... It was difficult to explain that. It can't be said that she saw it from the future of her previous life.
"I was just suspicious. Why is the work so clean? I'm so glad it worked out in the end."
"I wouldn't have bought it if you had told me in advance."
"I didn't know you would make a bid!"
Prince Alfonso smiled shyly. He felt like an idiot in front of this girl.
"It is like that again."
But after a while, he had other thoughts. Maybe they aren't friendly enough to share even uncertain stories with him. So the Prince asked again.
"Then why did you rush forward when you weren't sure?"
Alfonso didn't realize it, but deep down he wanted to hear something. So he persistently asked her for an answer.
"Ah, that's..."
Ariadne hesitated for a moment. "Because your step-brother was trash." would have been an appropriate description of what happened, but emotionally, there was a more honest answer.
"I think you will win the bid."
Prince Alfonso's face flushed red. It was the answer he was unconsciously longing for. 'You're special.' The words he wanted to hear came from her lips. Alfonso wanted to ask her one more question. But before her mood turns bizarre, Ariadne slaps Alfonso on the shoulder with a cheerful smile of hers. The boy had to close his lips in regret.
"Did you save 2000 ducatos thanks to me? Should you repay the favor?"
Thanks to her being so plain, Alfonso was forced out of his thoughts. He laughed with her too,
"Is that how it is? Is this amount really big? How should I repay this grace, Young Lady?"
"A lump sum payment of 2000 ducatos gold coins?"
"The great sword is here!"
Alfonso deliberately took a bog step back and raised both his hands.
"The Porto merchant even brought a fake statue, but the Lady seems to be trying to eat it with her bare mouth!"
Looking at Prince Alfonos's face, Ariadne smiled lightly again.
"Grant me a wish, then!"
"A wish? What are you wishing for?"
At the Prince's question, Ariadne casually shrugged.
" I don't know either."
"OK, I got it."
Prince Alfonso readily accepted the promise to pay the debt, the content of which was not even finalized. If the courtiers saw it, it was a sight that would have shouted as group, 'Please communicate with me, Your Highness, otherwise it will not work. But now he wanted to give everything to Ariadne. Any excuse for her to get entangled with her was good. If Ariadne asked for the Kingdom, wouldn't it be possible to see her for another three weeks under the guise of negotiations?
"Ha, I think we should go in now."
It was Prince Alfonso who was the first among the to announce the end of today's meeting. Alfonso had to hurry back to the palace ti meet the schedule because a dinner party was scheduled for the evening at the palace. He looked at Ariadne a couple of times, unwilling to take his steps, then pretended to write with his hand.
"Write a letter!"
"Huh?"
"No, I will write a letter to you! You have to reply!"
Ariadne nodded coldly. The Prince confirmed again.
"You must reply!"
Like a broken wind-up doll, despite Ariadne's continuous nodding, Prince Alfonso didn't feel relieved until he got a confirmation two or three times before getting on the carriage. The golden carriage was leaving the front gate of the house of the Marquis of Chibo with a loud noise as the curtain behind the carriage pulled back and Prince Alfonso's face peered out the window.
Ariadne laughed and waves her hand for a long, long time until his chariot was no longer in sight.
***
Since the discovery of the deceit of the Porto merchant by the Marquis of Chibo was rumored in San Carlo, Ariadne feared that she would be taken again by Cardinal de Mare and would reveal the source of the 'Eve of Wisdom. She searched her house and found antiques, archeology, and books on the history of ancient Hellenia, which she piled high in her new library and read.
When someone asked, How did she find out about the fact?', she took a breather and found some time to spare only after arranging the number of chapters and verses in the related literature so that she could immediately memorize the answer. It turns out that the person impersonating the name of 'Vincencio de Gato,' a merchant from the Republic of Porto, was a sculptor who was born to a nobleman from Lastera. They were gambling friends, they accidentally committed murder. He robbed his art warehouse, cheated on a large scale, and worked with the intention of disappearing.
'Cesare must have become a dog chasing chickens.'
Upon hearing this, Ariadne complained inwardly. Cesare, knowing that there would be a conflict with merchant organizations and internal problems in the republic of Porto, would have staged a game to catch the eyes of his father. After digging everything out, it was an individual deviant act. The sky was high and the weather was clear. It was a beautiful early fall when the heat had fone early. Then one day, Cardinal de Mare called both Ariadne and Lucrezia to his drawing room.
Smart.
Ariadne knocked on the door of Cardinal de Mare's parlor and cautiously went inside. Lucrezia had already arrived and was sitting in the parlor.
"Father, did you call the Bulcho children?"
"Hmmm. Sit down."
She had always referred to him as 'Your Eminence' except when she wanted to bully him in front of others, but after he promised to hold a debutante ball, she calmed down a bit and referred as her father. Lucrezia looked dissatisfied, whether she didn't like the title or had already heard something from Cardinal de Mare.
"I have already spoken with your mother. Now that you've grown older, I know you probably have a lot of personal expenses."
'I bought a safe and I also bought art.'
On the inside, she was answering bluntly, but on the outside, Ariadne only bowed her head even more.
"I'm sorry, Father."
"No, no. It goes without saying that a grown daughter has reasonable personal expenses. So, I would like to ask you to manage your personal expenses by receiving pocket money yourself. Shall we hold a debutante ball soon?"
Ariande's expression brightened.
"I want to thank Father for your grace."
"I haven't been able to enjoy it so far, so I have to catch up now. I will give you all the budget for the debutante ball."
Cardinal de Mare gave Lucrezia a sidelong glance.
"Your mother hasn't been feeling very well lately, so she won't be able to help much with the debutante preparations."
Lucrezia was as healthy as a pheasant. However, Cardinal de Mare quite reasonably predicted that if Lucrezia was to prepare for her second daughter's ball, half of the total budget would stay in Lucrezia's back pocket for a while and then go to her family. The stigma of the shabby de Mare ball, which was arranged with a hole in the budget, will be covered by himself.
Lucrezia didn't want to tell him that she had taken away even a part of her family's economic power by kicking his back pocket. So, she decided to pretend to be sick at Cardinal de Mare's excuse, and even though Ariadne and the two of them agreed to do so, she had no intention of sinking her nose by bringing out the substantial truth. So they exchanged a word or two of thanks, very concerned about the health of Lucrezia, who was perfectly healthy.
"First of all, I will give you 150 ducatos. Prepare the ball with this money, and if it's not enough, come to me anything and ask for more."
He did not trust the government, nor did he trust his little fifteen-year-old daughter. The proper budget for the debutant ball, which Cardinal de Mare thought was about 300 ducatos, and 500 ducatos was the maximum expenditure. It was a way to check the progress by giving it to her once.
"I see, Father."
However, Ariadne was a professional manager among professionals who managed the household of the Etruscan royal palace for nine years.
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